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Category: Boxes

Being eco-friendly might seem difficult at times, especially when moving. We’re here to tell you how to both have an excellent moving experience while also limit your carbon footprint. We’ve listed a few of our best tips, and ways to protect the planet in a huge way!

Reduce, Recycle, Reuse:

When preparing to move, deciding what to bring and what to donate or throw out can be a daunting task. Instead of just bringing all your items to your new home, take a minute to sort through it and decide what’s worth saving. Donate old clothes or basic home items to a local shelter or a non-profit organization, such as Goodwill. Both these places and the environment will benefit greatly from your contribution! When disposing of items be sure to research how to do so properly. Here’s a resource we find helpful.

Biodegradable/Recycled Supplies:

There’s no question that we all buy or re-use some sort of packing material during a move. Making the conscious movement to green-packaging materials can help to significantly reduce your carbon footprint. Such materials could include biodegradable packing peanuts, which are composed of a type of bioplastic, made from vegetable oil to eliminate waste. Another great resource for packing material is Geami paper, which is 100% reusable and recyclable. College Muscle Movers is also currently working to recycle the shrink wrap we use on site to protect items.

Eliminate the Boxes:

Along with waste that’s put into landfills, cardboard boxes is one of the largest players. Let’s face it, 27% of all landfill material in the United States comes from cardboard and paper. Traditional cardboard boxes can be great and seem like the cheaper, easier option, but play a negative role in our environment. If you choose to go with this option, then remember to recycle or donate them to others after!

If you want to be a little more eco-conscious, consider options like our durable and convenient Muscle Boxes. In doing so, you can to enjoy the comfort of having them delivered and picked up from your home and feel good knowing you are limiting any negative effects to our planet. Not to mention, options like our Muscle Boxes can be just as inexpensive as the more common cardboard alternative.

Here at College Muscle Movers, we know a thing or two about boxes. We work with boxes of all shapes and sizes, and we’re familiar with the huge mountain of cardboard lots of people discover in their new homes after they’ve finished moving. Below we’ll list some tips to help you manage the waste from all the cardboard you end using over the course of your move.

Save Your Boxes For The Next Move

First of all, consider using durable reusable plastic tote boxes. College Muscle Movers offers great deals on our Muscle Boxes. They are specifically designed with moving in mind. Even if you want to do the packing yourself, we can help keep your items safe for the upcoming move. Our Muscle Boxes stack neatly, and offer high durability. Plus, they can be reused, offering the benefit of a low carbon footprint. Additionally, you can avoid the mountain range of cardboard that also seems to rise up in the living room at the tail end of the move.

If you’ve already got boxes piling up, read on.

Recycle ‘Em

You can always recycle clean corrugated cardboard. Once it’s all been processed, it can be reused as paper bags, paperboard, and much more. To process the materials, recycling centers first saturate the cardboard with water and break it up to create a pulp. Then the pulp is filtered and screened to get rid of any undesirable materials (staples, glue, nails, paperclips, etc.) During this process, the pulp is also washed to clean out any ink or staining. After the cardboard has been pulped and cleaned, it’s ready to be turned into something new!

If you’re in St. Paul or Minneapolis, consider using the services of a business like Eureka or Rethink. A quick Google search should help you find other local recycling centers in your area. Just remember that there’s a difference between waxed and unwaxed cardboard!

Turn It Into Mulch

If you’re the gardening or landscaping type, one of the best uses for old cardboard is to convert it into mulch. This will help you keep down weeds, moderate soil temperature, and generally improve the quality of your soil.As with recycling, there’s a difference between waxed and unwaxed cardboard— don’t use waxed cardboard for mulch!

If you think that cardboard mulch looks tacky, you can always cover it in a thin layer of more expensive conventional mulch. You can also use bark or wood chips to cover your cardboard mulch. These are more traditional, especially if you live in a suburb with neighborhood requirements for lawns.

Relive Your Childhood With A Rad Box Fort

This one’s pretty self explanatory. Have some fun with your boxes. Maybe you want to to dress up as a robot? Get some tape and scissors and go to town! If you’re making box forts with children, make sure to keep an eye on them, and make sure there isn’t anything dangerous left in the boxes.

Hopefully some of these tips have been helpful! Remember, if you have any questions about an upcoming move, feel free to contact College Muscle Movers at 1(800) 818-8449

If you’re considering using College Muscle Movers, you probably didn’t come from too far away—all of our movers are Minneapolis locals looking to learn how to be part of a successful small business as they prepare for their future careers.

Whether you’re coming from Edina, Minnetonka, Eagan, or anywhere else in Minnesota and the greater Minneapolis area, you’re going to be facing similar challenges as you prepare to move. Even if you don’t rely on College Muscle Movers or another local option, the process will be the same: Packing, Handling, Transportation, and Unloading.

You can rely on College Muscle Movers for all these steps—or you can take care of some yourself and call us for any details you’d rather not deal with.

Here’s how you can quickly and efficiently pack your house or apartment for your Minneapolis move.

1. Bubbles and Boxes

Boxes, boxes, boxes. You’re going to need a lot of them—along with bubble wrap for more delicate items (although you could also wrap them up in towels!).

You can buy them in many places: U-Haul, Staples, Lowe’s… for a major move, you are going to have to buy some boxes. We offer a lot of inexpensive and durable solutions ourselves, but here’s a trick you can use to get a head start at no cost: local businesses that deal in bulk goods may have cardboard boxes they’ll give you for free. Grocery stores are just one example. Ask politely and you may be able to pick up a pile of boxes that would otherwise be shipped off for recycling.

2. Packing Labels and Packing Space

Now that you have the boxes, you need to fill them. Clear out a space in your house or apartment and start filling up boxes one at a time, labelling them with the category of items inside. You know the obvious ones: “Kitchen,” “Bathroom,” “Electronics.” But make sure you have a couple of boxes labelled “OPEN FIRST,” too! You’ll want that coffee maker right away. It’s a good place to put important documents related to your move as well.

3. Check, Check, Check

If you have your boxes and a packing process, you’re almost done. But almost isn’t good enough!

Check, check, check again after you think you’re done packing. Is everything packed? Do you have everything you’ll need before you Unpack?

Good job. Now, after the College Muscle Movers have filled up the truck with all your boxes… check AGAIN. With all that extra space, you might find a few items you missed before.

4. Read On

Got it? Then check out our blog next week for our post on handling boxes and furniture as you move them from your old home or apartment to your moving vehicle. We’ll try to help you keep you back straight and your stuff in one piece as you move down the stairs and out the door.